*Dhaniram Mittal — The "Indian Natwarlal"*

*Dhaniram Mittal — The "Indian Natwarlal"* Known as Delhi’s most notorious conman and forger. Active 1960s-1990s. Pulled off scams so brazen that police called him _“a criminal with a lawyer’s brain.”_ *1. Basic profile* **Detail** **Info** **Full name** Dhaniram Mittal **Born** ~1935, village near Panipat, Haryana **Education** Failed Class 5, but self-taught in law, banking, forgery **Nickname** “Indian Natwarlal”, “Super Conman” **Arrests** 200+ times across India. Escaped jail 7 times **Died** 2014, in Delhi *2. Most famous exploits* *A. “Sold” Rashtrapati Bhavan – 1987* 1. *The con*: Posed as senior govt officer. Met 2 foreign tourists at Connaught Place. Showed forged papers claiming govt was “privatizing heritage buildings”. 2. *The deal*: “Sold” them Rashtrapati Bhavan for ₹20 lakh as a hotel. Took advance of ₹1 lakh. 3. *Caught*: Tourists went to Rashtrapati Bhavan gates asking for keys. Security called police. _Copied Natwarlal’s trick of selling Taj Mahal/Parliament._ *B. Fake Judge for 6 months – 1968* 1. *The con*: Forged appointment letter from Law Ministry. Showed up at Tis Hazari Court, Delhi as “Additional District & Sessions Judge”. 2. *What he did*: Heard 2,000+ cases. Granted bail to petty criminals, took bribes, acquitted some people. No one suspected — he knew court procedure perfectly. 3. *Caught*: A real judge noticed irregularities in his orders. On verification, Law Ministry said no such judge exists. 4. *Aftermath*: All his judgements were declared void. Hundreds of cases had to be reheard. He served 3 years. *C. Became Railway Station Master* 1. *The con*: 1971, reached Delhi Cantt Railway Station in uniform with forged posting order. 2. *Ran the station*: For 2 months he gave orders, managed trains, collected “fines”. Even flagged off trains. 3. *Caught*: Real station master returned from leave early. *D. Fake Police Station* 1. *Kotwali, Delhi*: In 1980s he set up a full fake police _chowki_ near Red Fort. Hired unemployed youth as “constables”. 2. *Business*: Took complaints, registered FIRs, collected hafta from vendors, released people on “bail”. Ran it for 3 weeks. 3. *Exposed*: Real SHO came for surprise inspection of area. *E. Other hits* 1. *Sold Qutub Minar* to a scrap dealer as “old iron tower”. 2. *Issued cheques from RBI Governor’s account* by forging signatures. 3. *Ran fake passport office* near IGI Airport — issued 400+ fake passports before arrest. 4. *Impersonated PM’s secretary* and tried to buy 50 cars from Hindustan Motors. *3. How he operated* 1. *Master forger*: Could copy any signature, stamp, govt letterhead. Studied typography and law books in jail. 2. *Psychology*: Always well-dressed, spoke fluent English + legal terms. Picked targets who were greedy or ignorant. 3. *Jail as school*: Called Tihar “my university”. Every arrest he learned new IPC sections, court tricks, banking loopholes. 4. *No violence*: Never used weapon. Police said his only tools were “pen, paper, and confidence”. *4. Legal record* 1. *200+ FIRs* in Delhi, UP, Haryana, Rajasthan. Cases: cheating, forgery, impersonation, sedition. 2. *Escapes*: 7 times from custody. Once walked out of court saying he was public prosecutor. 3. *Total jail time*: ∼25 years across terms. Released ∼2008 due to old age. 4. *Last years*: Lived in Karol Bagh. Died 2014, age 79. Delhi Police said “end of an era of white-collar cons”. *5. Legacy* 1. *Inspiration*: Web series _Scam 1992_, movies on Natwarlal borrow from his tricks. 2. *Police case study*: Delhi Police Academy still teaches “Mittal model” of forgery prevention. 3. *Difference from Natwarlal*: Natwarlal sold monuments for crores and escaped. Mittal mostly got caught but scale of impersonation was wilder — judge, station master, SHO. *Best quote about him*: Delhi CP said in 1990s — “If Dhaniram had used his brain for IAS, he’d be Home Secretary. He chose to be Home Secretary of Tihar instead.”